1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary camera, and more particularly, to a rotary camera rotatably installed on a mobile communications device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the use of mobile communications devices has increased, such devices have been used for more than mere voice or data communications. The term “mobile communications device,” as used herein, refers to mobile telephones, cellular telephones, Personal Communication Systems (PCS), Personal Data Assistant (PDA) devices, laptop computers, and any other device having wireless communication capabilities.
For example, mobile communications devices are now used to provide such functions as Internet capability and multimedia capability. Along with these increased functions has come the need to equip mobile communications devices with a camera in order to facilitate video/image communications through the reception and transmission of photographic images.
Efforts have been made to provide mobile communications devices with cameras which are capable of rotating about an axis in order to better provide the capability of capturing a photographic image while the user is still able to view the display screen of the communications device. The ability to position the camera to capture an image while still being able to view the display screen allows the user to continue communicating, via voice or data transmission, while the photographic image is captured.
One embodiment of a conventional mobile communications device equipped with a camera is illustrated in FIG. 1. The cellular telephone 1 includes main body 2 with a camera 3 fixedly mounted at an upper portion of the body. This telephone 1 does not allow the user to aim the camera 3 at an object with a desired angle without rotating the entire main body 2 since the camera lens is formed as an integral part of the telephone.
Because the camera 3 is always facing away from the LCD 4 and keypad 5 on the front of the main body 2, the user cannot aim the camera toward an object while viewing the LCD or keypad. Therefore, the user cannot use the LCD 4 like a viewfinder of a conventional camera in order to check the image of the intended object in the lens of the camera 3 before taking a picture. Furthermore, the user cannot use the keypad 5 to make a phone call while taking a picture.
A second embodiment of a conventional communications device equipped with a camera is illustrated in FIG. 2. The cellular telephone 6 includes a camera 7 rotatably installed in an upper portion of a main body 8. Although the camera 7 may be rotated with respect to the main body 8 and the LCD 9, the rotation is limited. For example, the camera 7 may only be rotated in the vertical axis (up and down) and with limited angles from which to photograph an object without rotating the entire main body 8. Furthermore, since the camera 7 sticks out on the edge of the main body 8, the lens is exposed and easily damaged or contaminated.
A third embodiment of a conventional communications device equipped with a camera is illustrated in FIG. 3. The cellular telephone 10 includes a camera 11 mounted at an upper end of a main body 12. The camera 11 rotates only on a horizontal axis (side-to-side). Because the user cannot rotate the camera 11 on a vertical axis (front to back) with respect to the main body 1, the camera 10 provides only limited angles from which to photograph an object without rotating the entire main body 12. Like the previous embodiment, the lens of the camera 11 may be easily damaged or contaminated.
A fourth embodiment of a conventional mobile communications device equipped with a camera includes a main body, a folder portion capable of being opened and closed at a hinge portion, an LCD on the folder portion, and a camera rotatably installed at a bushing in the middle of the hinge portion. The camera includes a cylindrically shaped camera housing, a camera lens installed in the camera housing, and a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connected to the camera lens.
In use, the rotation angle of the camera is controlled by frictional force generated between the bushing and the camera housing. When the camera is rotated, the FPCB is wound on the camera housing.
Although the camera in the fourth embodiment may be rotated significantly with respect to the LCD and the camera lens may be protected by the location of the camera in the bushing, the wound FPCB tends to cause the camera housing to rotate, therefore preventing the user from precisely adjusting the camera to a desired angle without rotating the entire telephone. Furthermore, the position of the camera is held only by friction and, therefore, may be susceptible to change through the movement of the telephone or rotation of the foldable portion about the hinge portion.
Attempts have been made to provide a mechanism for precisely adjusting and maintaining the position of camera with respect to a mobile communications device in which it is rotatably mounted. However, the user is still limited in the degree of variation with which he can adjust the camera angle and still have the chosen angle maintained until it is desired to adjust it further.
Therefore, there is a need for a mobile communications device equipped with a camera that enables the user to precisely aim the camera at an object to be photographed with a desired angle with respect to the body of the device and the adjusted position of the camera to be maintained until the user deliberately changes it. The present invention addresses these and other needs.